Executive Director Search

Digital Antiquity Seeks a Founding Executive Director

Digital Antiquity seeks an entrepreneurial and visionary individual who can play a central role in transforming the discipline of archaeology by leading the establishment of an on-line repository of the digital data and documents produced by archaeological research in the Americas.The Digital Antiquity initiative, generously funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks to hire an Executive Director to lead the development of a financially and socially sustainable, national/international, on-line digital repository for the documents, databases, images, and other digital data produced by archaeological research. The repository will secure the long-term preservation of these data and provide enormously enhanced access to them. By allowing archaeologists to leverage the results of previous research in ways that have never before been possible, Digital Antiquity has the potential to truly transform the practice of archaeology and our ability to understand the past.

Digital Antiquity is a national initiative that, during its startup phase, resides within Arizona State University but is expected to become financially secure and spun off as an independent non-profit in 4-5 years. Until this transition, the Executive Director will hold the position of Research Professor in ASU's School of Human Evolution and Social Change (formerly, Department of Anthropology) with a joint appointment in the University Libraries. The Executive Director reports to the Digital Antiquity Board of Directors. This is a 12 month, renewable appointment with excellent benefits and an attractive salary and rank (Assistant, Associate, or Full) commensurate with experience. A fixed term secondment or IPA (paid transfer from another permanent position) might also be considered. The position requires relocation to the Phoenixarea of central Arizona.

The Executive Director will oversee all Digital Antiquity activities, including hiring and supervising the Digital Antiquity staff, marketing the repository services to the professional community, specifying functional requirements of the repository, guiding software development and the acquisition of repository content, and setting standards for quality of repository data, metadata and services. The Executive Director will work with the Board of Directors and Science Board to achieve the initiative's goals.

We seek an entrepreneurial individual who can bring strong leadership and sound business judgment to this initiative. The individual should be poised to take on a major challenge and to quickly acquire needed expertise in unfamiliar areas. The position requires collaboration with computer scientists and informatics professionals as well as substantial interactions with government, consulting, academic, and museum archaeologists and with the institutions responsible for requiring, funding and permitting archaeological projects. We will consider individuals with a range of backgrounds and experience. A graduate degree in informatics, archaeology, anthropology, business, or a related field is required. A PhD is desired. Candidates must have experience in either business, archaeology (particularly consulting or government archaeology), informatics, or ideally, some combination thereof. Applicants must have demonstrated leadership skills; a successful and entrepreneurial management record is desired. While an understanding of the U.S.cultural resource management compliance process is desirable, we welcome applications from outside the US.

Review of applications will begin on May 1, 2009 and continue until the search is closed. Interested individuals should submit, in electronic form, a letter of application, a resumé or curriculum vitae, and names and contact information for three references to Prof. Sander van der Leeuw, Chair, Digital Antiquity Board of Directors, SHESC - Box872402, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402 (vanderle@asu.edu). For more information please see http://digitalantiquity.org or contact Keith Kintigh (kintigh@asu.edu).

A background check is required for employment. ASU is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to excellence through diversity.

PDF Version of this Executive Director Job Announcement